Brent Nultemeier

Partner | News & Happenings Reporter
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Growing up as a kid in Virginia Beach, Brent has always been surrounded by water. Sailing, surfing, fishing and skateboarding were his passions and foundation that drew him near the ocean. He attended Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond, VA and graduated with a Bachelor’s in Communication Arts & Design. Having worked at several companies in Richmond as an Art Director, and living away from the ocean for about 10 years, he and his wife decided to make the move back East with their sights on the Outer Banks. With surfing being his favorite hobby, the Outer Banks was a perfect fit. In 2005, Brent headed back to a more familiar and welcoming beach community and now lives in Kill Devil Hills with his wife and 3 daughters. Brent has run a Graphic Design business (BN Design & Advertising) for over 12 years. Complimenting his Design business during the day, Brent is also an acoustic solo guitarist and plays gigs regularly on the Outer Banks and is also a board member of the Surfrider Foundation, Outer Banks Chapter.

Jamie LaVier

Partner | Forecast Reporter
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Jamie grew up on the East Coast, attending school in VB and eventually college in the mountains of VA. Surfing having struck early keeping most addresses oceanside. With considerable water time logged at home and in the Outer Banks the lure of West Coast adventure kicked in leading to countless cross country road trips and soon a 5 year residence in Southern California in search of the many California point breaks scattering the coast. Now happily tap-rooted to the Outer Banks, days are spent with his family, the humbling study of finding the next swell and hopefully a surf or two.

Susan & Scott Lawrence

Website Development
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Susan and Scott bring their talents from their own business Bold Print Design Studio to OBX Surf Info, and are responsible for the layout and back-end functionality of the website. Susan is partner and art director at Bold Print Design Studio, where she balances running a small business while exploring and developing her love of art, design, and the internet. She loves living here at the beach with her husband Scott (not a surfer herself, at least she’s married to one!) and three children – Christopher, Travis and Giana.

Dr. Jeff Hanson

Swell Consultant
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Dr. Jeff Hanson is a Research Oceanographer with the US Army Corps of Engineers Field Research Facility in Duck, NC and owner of WaveForce Technologies, a wave consulting company for ocean science and industry.  He received is PhD in Physical Oceanography (ocean waves) from Johns Hopkins University in 1997.  After working for Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Lab for 18 years, Dr. Hanson moved with his family to the Outer Banks just after Hurricane Isabel in 2003.  Since arriving here he has worked extensively with the Army Corps, National Weather Service and FEMA to develop improved wave observation and forecasting capabilities for the Outer Banks.  He loves to play in the water, including boating, fishing, kayaking, diving, spear fishing and of course riding waves.  Oh yeah, his friends and co-workers call him WaveMan…

Jess Lowcher

Social Media | Blogger
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Jess was born and raised on the Outer Banks. She recently received her degree in Marine Biology from the University of North Carolina Wilmington. During her time at UNCW she studied abroad in Fiji and became the Editor in Chief of the campus creative magazine, Atlantis. When she’s not trying to grow a pair of gills you can find her pursuing her love of photography/film, teaching surf lessons, seeking out a good book, or traveling the globe.

Katlyn Smith

Social Media | Blogger
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Katlyn Smith was born and raised in Richmond, Virginia. Growing up as a kid, she constantly vacationed with her family to the Outer Banks every summer and knew the ocean is where she belonged. After receiving her Bachelors in Business Administration with a concentration in Marketing from the University of Hawai’i at Manoa, she decided the summers weren’t long enough in the Outer Banks and made it it her home. After her many unforgettable adventures in Hawai’i and seeing some of the worlds most demanding waves she destines to travel the world while remaining grateful to call the Outer Banks her home. When she isn’t chasing the swells getting pictures she is going for a good run on the beach, loves stand up paddling, kayaking, hiking, going for a skate, and beach cruising around.

Reporters

Gary Smith

Corolla Surf Reporter
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You might know Gary from Corolla Surf Shop, the original surf shop in Corolla.

Darel Crumpler

Kitty Hawk Surf Reporter
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Darel is a 42 year old father of 3, and resides in Kitty Hawk.  He is a graduate of ECU and an avid watersport enthusiast.  He and his wife own the Southern Shores & MP 10 Tropical Smoothie Cafes. They also manage commercial and residential properties in VA & NC.  Most of Darel’s afternoons involve spending time with his children and coaching their athletic teams.

Herman Hall

Kill Devil Hills Surf Reporter
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Herman Hall is owner/partner and Surf Program Director at Kitty Hawk Kayak and Surf School. He grew up surfing in Virginia Beach and the Outer Banks as a kid. As a teenager he worked for the Virginia Beach Lifesaving Service as an oceanfront lifeguard, which gave him basic first aid and safety skills and cultivated a deep awareness, respect and understanding of the ocean.

He has since surfed Puerto Rico, Mexico, Panama, Nicaragua, El Salvador, Costa Rica, Spain, Morocco, Portugal, the Canary Islands, Australia, Indonesia, Barbados and Canada. As an outdoor educator Herman has taught people to surf on four continents, worked for the Costa Rica Rainforest Outward Bound School for a year, leading backpacking trips in the rainforest, volcano summit expeditions in Nicaragua, and 2- to 4-week long surf courses.

I enjoy spending time with my family, teaching people how to surf, swimming, spear fishing, camping, reading, yoga and kayaking. But best of all, I am married to my best friend and business partner, Heather, and we have two wonderful young children, Herman V and Nellie.

Jason Heilig

Rodanthe Surf Reporter
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Jason Heilig is owner of Rodanthe Surf Shop.

Kevin & Drew Scalia

Avon Surf Reporters
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For brothers Kevin and Drew Scalia, Hatteras Island Boardsports is the result of a lifelong obsession with the Outer Banks of North Carolina and specifically the village of Avon on Hatteras Island. Their grandfather built a family vacation home in the late 1960′s before they were born and for several years was a partner in ownership of the Avon Fishing Pier.  Kevin & Drew’s mother was a school teacher so with summers off they had been raised coming to Avon their entire lives for family vacations and have been rolled in the Hatteras surf since they learned to swim.  They discovered early on that this quiet strip of beach is where they belonged and, although they left for college and other jobs, they always found their way back.  In 2002 their pipe dream of one day owning a surf shop was realized when they opened Hatteras Island Boardsports in Avon.  In 2012 they celebrated HIB’s 10th year in grand style with the opening of their newly built facility on a vacant lot across the street from the Avon Pier where their grandfather had helped establish family roots decades before. Hatteras Island Boardsports surf shop is now a recognized mainstay of Hatteras Island and Avon and was designed to share Kevin & Drew’s love for the area with both locals and tourists so, whether you are a seasoned local or a leisurely summer visitor, they’ll have what you need to get the most out of Avon and Hatteras Island.

Megan Lambert

Nags Head Surf Reporter
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Bob Chestnut

Ocracoke Surf Reporter
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Bob and his wife Jane are the owners of Ride The Wind Surf Shop on Ocracoke Island. They’ve raised two sons on Ocracoke and the surf shop life, both of them currently off in college. When he’s not at the shop, Bob spends his time surfing and pulling for his alma mater, NC State.

Dimitri Maramenides

Outer Banks Kiteboarding Reporter
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I was born in Athens June 11th 1969, and I was raised in Cameroon , France and Greece. I live in Cape Hatteras, Outer Banks, NC in the USA. This is the place I train. In the winter I travel to the Caribbean. I have 2 kids and it is very hard to leave them when I go to trips. The oldest is Olivia , who was born in 1998 and the other is a boy whose name is Cameron, and he was born in 2002. My ideal kite conditions are when it is blowing 20 to 25 mph and I am out inventing new tricks. The only down side is that I will not stop kiting until I get the trick dialed which can take up to six hours and lots of ADVILS. I also like kiting during the sunset and among friends. This sport is about freedom and about expressing yourself so if you are ready for the ride of your life, buckle up and lets do this.

Aaron Beatson

Fishing Reporter
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Captain Aaron Beatson owns and operates Carolina Sunrise. As an inshore Outer Banks fishing guide, Captain Beatson’s knowledge of the North Carolina nearshore fishing waters is vast.

JT Roehrs

Fishing Reporter
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Originally from Wilmington, JT Roehrs works down at the Red Drum Tackle Shop in Buxton, the “Oldest Complete Tackle Shop at Cape Hatteras.” I grew up in Wilmington, NC for the first period of my life, but always had a spot for Buxton, NC. I started fishing when I was 4 with my father and ever since then I found my passion. When I was 8 years old I took my first fishing trip to the “Point” and was immediately hooked on fishing the Outer Banks. The “Point” is just one of those places where no matter what is happening time seems to slow down, and you can just watch in amazement the beauty of it all. At 12 years old I wanted to learn to build my own rods, and Mike Cowan showed me just how to do so. I have now been building custom fishing rods for 8 years, and still enjoy doing it today. After High school I went to Cape Fear Community College for a degree in Marine technology. I then landed the job working for Bob Eakes at The Red Drum Tackle Shop in Buxton, NC.